Seitan is one of my favorite kinds of meat substitutes. It's delicious, easy to make, and requires only 8 ingredients. Super simple!
Seitan, also known as wheat meat, is one of my all-time favorite plant-based meat alternatives. I eat it every single week because I love its taste, but also because is so versatile you can use it to replace real meat to make pretty much every recipe that calls for meat.
I easily made it with only 8 ingredients. One of them is vital wheat gluten, so if you have gluten sensitivity or suffer from celiac disease, this recipe might not be for you. However, there're so many alternatives, like tofu or tempeh. Let me know how it goes!
How to make seitan – Step by step
- Add the vital wheat gluten, whole wheat flour, garlic and onion powder to a bowl and stir until well combined (photo 1).
- Add the water and mix until all ingredients are well combined (photo 2).
- Place the seitan in the bowl, cover with a kitchen towel, and let rest for 10-20 minutes (photo 3).
- Make a ball with the seitan dough (photo 4).
- Add all the remaining ingredients to a large pot, stir, and bring to a boil. Then add the seitan (photo 5).
- Simmer partially covered for 1 hour (photo 6).
- Remove from the heat and allow it to cool a bit.
- You can use your seitan immediately.
Pro tips
- I find this recipe is more precise if you use a measuring cup as the weight of the vital wheat gluten may vary from one brand to another. If you don't have one, just use a regular cup or mug and add the same volume of vital wheat gluten and water. You can also use a scale and add more or less water if needed.
- This recipe can only be made using vital wheat gluten, but I think seitan has a better texture if you also add some type of flour. Garbanzo bean or chickpea flour is also a good choice.
- Garlic and onion powder are completely optional, but they will make your seitan taste even better.
- Vegetable broth and tamari or soy sauce give the seitan an amazing flavor and also a beautiful color. If you don't consume soy, just add some salt to taste.
- You can make your own vegetable stock from scratch using the veggies you have on hand or even some vegetable scraps. I find boullion so convenient, but store-bought vegetable stock is also okay. You could use water, but you'll get a really bland seitan.
- Kombu is a type of seaweed and it's also optional. I use it to infuse the broth and make a more flavorful seitan.
- It's really important to use a large pot as the seitan doubles its size while cooking.
- Feel free to cut the recipe in half or double the ingredients if you want. If you make a large ball, it could be a good idea to divide the dough.
What is seitan?
Seitan is a kind of meat substitute. If you're wondering what is seitan made of, it is essentially made with wheat protein, aka gluten or vital wheat gluten.
Is seitan healthy?
It is, as long as you can eat gluten. So be careful if you have any intolerances! Seitan is high in protein and minerals, but low in carbs and fat. It's a healthy source of plant-based protein to include in your meals. Besides, it's delicious!
How can I use seitan?
Use seitan to make any recipe that calls for meat. It has a similar flavor and texture, that's why it's a popular vegan substitute for meat. Besides, seitan is much healthier than regular meat, as it is cholesterol-free.
To serve it, I usually fry, sautée, grill, or boil it and season it with some herbs and spices such as paprika or black pepper. As it has a pork or beef-like texture, it makes great soups and stews, as well as stir-fries, vegan fajitas, or vegan tacos.
Looking for more meat substitutes?
Did you make this seitan recipe?
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Seitan
Ingredients
- 1 cup vital wheat gluten
- ¼ cup whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder, optional
- 1 teaspoon onion powder, optional
- 1 cup water, at room temperature
- 8 cups vegetable stock
- ¼ cup tamari or soy sauce
- A small piece of kombu, optional
Instructions
- Add the vital wheat gluten, whole wheat flour, garlic, and onion powder to a bowl and stir until well combined.
- Add the water and mix until all ingredients are well combined. You don't need to knead the seitan, just mix until well combined, that's all.
- Place the seitan in the bowl, cover with a kitchen towel, and let rest for 10-20 minutes.
- Make a ball with the seitan dough. It doesn't have to be perfect as it won't change the flavor or texture, just will make your seitan more beautiful.
- Add all the remaining ingredients to a large pot (vegetable stock, tamari or soy sauce, and kombu), stir, and bring to a boil. Then add the seitan.
- Simmer partially covered for 1 hour. You don't need to stir while it's cooking.
- Remove from the heat and allow it to cool a bit.
- You can use your seitan immediately or refrigerate it in an airtight container in the stock for about 7-10 days. You can also freeze it in an airtight container, but discard the stock and cut the seitan into big chunks (or slice it) before freezing it. It can last up to 6 months in the freezer.
- Use it to replace meat in any dish or recipe you want like vegan fajitas or vegan tacos.
Notes
- I find this recipe is more precise if you use a measuring cup as the weight of the vital wheat gluten may vary from one brand to another, but if you don't have one, just use a regular cup or mug and add the same volume of vital wheat gluten and water. You can also use a scale and add more or less water if needed.
- This recipe can be made using only vital wheat gluten, but I think seitan has a better texture if you also add some type of flour. Garbanzo bean or chickpea flour is also a good choice.
- Garlic and onion powder are completely optional, but they will make your seitan taste even better.
- Vegetable stock and tamari or soy sauce give the seitan an amazing flavor and also a beautiful color. If you don't consume soy, just add some salt to taste.
- You can make your own vegetable stock from scratch using the veggies you have on hand or even some vegetable scraps. I find boullion so convenient, but store-bought vegetable stock is also okay. You could use water, but you'll get really bland seitan.
- Kombu is a seaweed (just in case you haven't heard about it before) and it's also optional. I use it to infuse the stock and to make the seitan more flavorful.
- It's really important to use a large pot as the seitan doubles its size while cooking.
- Feel free to cut the recipe in half or double the ingredients if you want. If you make a large ball, it could be a good idea to divide the dough.
- Cooking time doesn't include the time you need to wait while the seitan is resting.
- Nutritional info is not accurate as I don't include the ingredients we're going to discard later (vegetable stock, tamari or soy sauce, and kombu). I can't know the exact amount of those ingredients that the seitan absorbs while cooking. That's why the amount of sodium of the seitan is higher than 10 mg.
Nutrition
Update Notes: This post was originally published in December of 2017, but was republished with new photos, step-by-step instructions, and tips in January of 2022.
Kyhra says
My sister made it for us and OMG I BEGGED HER TO NEVER STOP BRINGING IT OVER!!! Finally she just forked over the recipe 🤌
Iosune Robles says
Hi! I'm so glad you both liked it 🙂
Tahira Akhtar says
I never knew it was so easy. Where do you buy your vital wheat gluten from?
Also, can you blend some beans, chickpeas to help with the texture so it'll be easier to digest?
Iosune Robles says
Hi! We usually buy it in an herbalist shop, but you can also find it on Amazon 🙂 I haven't tried it myself so I'm not sure if it works, sorry!
Oprel Forch says
Is there any protein meat that can be made without gluten or msg?
Iosune Robles says
Hi! Have you tried to make tempeh or tofu?
Alexandra Abraham says
Making seitan from whole flour isn't complicated, and almost impossible to get wrong, but it is a longer process, and wasteful if you don't use the residual gluten-free by-product. But I make seitan using whole flour all the time, because gluten flour is far more expensive to buy than ordinary flour.
Iosune Robles says
Hi Alexandra! Thanks for your kind comment 🙂
Agnieszka Niemczyk says
How can the byproduct be used?
Carmen says
Omg I was always so afraid to make my own but with this was as easy as 123! I’m filipino so a lot of our dishes are meat based so this is the perfect solution to still have the best of both worlds! Thank you for this
Iosune Robles says
Hi! Thanks for your kind comment 🙂 I'm glad you liked it!
Jasmine Layfield says
Made this slightly differently to the recipe but it turned out brilliantly! Really juicy “meat” with so much flavour - would definitely recommend!
When I made it I used chickpea flour instead of wheat, for the seasoning in the mix I included: 2 garlic cloves, 1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika, 1 tsp of garlic pepper, pinch of salt and 3 tsp of nutritional yeast. The only other thing I did differently was that I only used about 6 cups of stock, and about 45ml of soy sauce. I also cut the seitan in half before cooking it.
But yeah great recipe and would recommend!
Iosune Robles says
Sounds so good 🙂 I'm glad you liked it!
Lisa says
First time making seitan as a new vegan and I'm so impressed with how easy it is! Made 2 batches last night, one with garlic and herbs and one with carribean spices which is my favourite!
Thank you so much 🙂
Iosune Robles says
So glad you liked our seitan recipe Lisa 🙂 Have a nice day!
Laureen Willms says
This was incredibly easy to make. I ended up keeping it in the fridge in the broth that it was cooked it. Seemed to marinate itself. Used it for burittos, in soups, and fried up alone. Thanks for the recipe, I had vital wheat gluten for months and was wondering how to use it!
Iosune Robles says
Hi Laureen! I'm so glad you liked it!
Porco Rosso says
My first attempt at making my own seitan, and I was looking for a simple recipe! This turned out delicious: flavourful, chewy, very nice texture.
Iosune Robles says
Hi Porco! I'm so glad you enjoyed our seitan 🙂
John says
How much does this make? I'm looking at making your fajitas, and it calls for 1/2 pound of seitan.
Iosune Robles says
Hi John! Don't know exactly but maybe 1/3 pound of seitan 🙂
Christopher Ebrey says
Fantastic seitan, I tried making it years ago and it was a massive fail. This was meaty, yet not too dense. I made a stir-fry with it, and it was delicious.
I tweaked the recipe by adding a teaspoon of Marmite, gotta get those vitamins somewhere
Iosune Robles says
Hi! I'm so glad you liked our seitan recipe 🙂 Have a nice day!
Susie says
When you say that it's ok to double the recipe is 8 cups of broth enough for double the dry ingredients or double that too?
Iosune Robles says
Hi Susie! You have to double both 🙂